A Duluth man threatened to shoot another man and punched him in the face after offering him a ride with two women near a downtown hotel, according to charges.
The confrontation happened at about 3:00 a.m. on September 6, 2026, on the 200 block of West 1st Street in Duluth. Officers responded after a report of an assault and spoke with the victim, who said he and a friend were walking when two women and a man approached in a vehicle and offered them a ride to the Radisson Hotel for money.
Kevin Otis Hotchkiss, 35, faces charges of threats of violence and fifth-degree assault. The complaint was filed Wednesday in Saint Louis County District Court.
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According to court records, the victim told officers that after he and his friend declined the ride and started to walk away, Hotchkiss got out of the vehicle, approached him and said he had a gun and would shoot him. The victim reported that Hotchkiss then punched him in the face, striking the left side of his mouth.
Officers observed that the victim was bleeding from the left side of his mouth. Police found the suspect vehicle nearby and conducted a traffic stop. Hotchkiss was found inside the vehicle, and officers discovered a Glock magazine in his pocket.
During the investigation, Hotchkiss told officers that a firearm was in a purse in the back of the vehicle. Officers searched the vehicle and found a handgun inside a black purse in the back cargo area.
The charges allege that Hotchkiss threatened the victim with a gun and caused bodily harm by punching him. The threats of violence charge accuses him of putting the victim in fear of serious harm, while the fifth-degree assault charge alleges he inflicted or attempted to inflict bodily harm.
About This Charge
Minnesota classifies assault by degree under § 609.221 (first), § 609.222 (second), § 609.223 (third), § 609.2231 (fourth) and § 609.224 (fifth). First-degree assault, alleging great bodily harm, carries up to 20 years in prison. The lower degrees range from misdemeanor up to 10-year felony exposure depending on weapon use and harm.
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Jurisdictional Context
Saint Louis County is Minnesota’s largest county by area, stretching from Duluth to the Canadian border. The Saint Louis County Attorney’s Office prosecutes felonies through the Sixth Judicial District; cases are heard at the Saint Louis County Courthouse in Duluth and the Virginia courthouse for cases north of the iron range.
